I need help defeating western grip players. I am a semi western player. The western players hit deep with alot of spin. How should I play my game against people with deep shots and alot of topspin?

tennis_hand

08-28-2006, 08:10 PM

Maybe hit fast and flat? they are generally not comfortable with low balls.

Rickson

08-28-2006, 08:12 PM

I need help defeating western grip players. I am a semi western player. The western players hit deep with alot of spin. How should I play my game against people with deep shots and alot of topspin?
You should flatten your balls and send them bouncing low to them. Topspin western grippers love high balls, but usually cringe when they face low balls. Slice them low to the forehand often and approach the net constantly.

I play with a western grip and one guy I play will always hit low, short slices to my forehand and then hit deep to my backhand. Against him it doesn't bother me a whole lot because he's more of a pusher than an attacker. All I do is get the ball back deep and wait for a shorter, higher ball to take advantage of.

If he came to the net after hitting deep to my backhand it might pose some problems but he never does. But yes, low flat, or low sliced balls tend to give a western grip trouble.

goblake14

08-29-2006, 05:33 PM

Maybe it's just me but these heavy topspin players all seem to be quite fast. Generally they move well laterally so pushing them side to side is no good, but I have found that if you hit a hard, flattish-ball right at them, they have difficulty setting up the topspin and will shank the ball a good number of times. As for dealing with the heavy topspin, hit it hard and don't let them have enough time to brush up against the ball.

Dunlopkid

08-29-2006, 06:02 PM

Yeah, I face this type of player a lot too. Are you guys suggesting slicing MY forehand crosscourt? That seems weird. I understand slicing the backhand, but forehand?

Kevo

08-29-2006, 06:04 PM

I second goblake14. Hit it solid right at them to the weaker side. Lots of shanks and uncomfortable shots will follow.

fx101

08-29-2006, 06:20 PM

As a western player here is my advice. Hit the ball short more than anything, and with moderate slice. Hitting this to an eastern or SW player is suicide, but against a western player the ball will cause them to run in and hit as far up as they can which is not very much due to the nature of the grip. The result will be them netting a lot of balls. This is on Hard-court. On clay a good western player will have an enourmous advantage due to the slower pace of the court, and even if you slice, the high bounce of the clay makes hitting any shot easy for a western player. On clay your best bet is to hit as much angle as you can, and play his/her game. You will be playing very long baseline rallies and will have to be very consistent in order to survive. On grass, just drop shot or hit a fast slice (floater balls are really easy for western players) and you're set. Another technique that will work apart from the one's above is hitting the ball at their feet. Western grippers need a forward point of contact so if the ball bounes close to them they will panic. This works ONLY for people under 4.5 because 5.0'ers like myself have learned the swinging volley so we take it in the air. Again, another reason not to hit a floater slice ball.

shawn1122

08-30-2006, 11:23 PM

Yes, the slices work well in this case.

MasterTS

08-30-2006, 11:28 PM

Yes, the slices work well in this case.

Only if the player is 4.5 or lower.. even some 4.5s with western grips won't have much problem.. At higher levels it really isn't going to cause too many problems. I hit with western sometimes and i just whip up and throw the ball on slices.

xsuper

08-31-2006, 01:09 PM

I love playing players that has ridiculous spin. Why? I send their super high bouncing balls back at them as a super fast, hard flat shot. I also like to play these players because the topspin gives me more time to reach the ball.

mctennis

08-31-2006, 02:28 PM

They cannot return drop shots or balls close to the net. they usually cannot change their grip and are not comfortable close to teh net.

TylerWeekes

08-31-2006, 03:04 PM

Only if the player is 4.5 or lower.. even some 4.5s with western grips won't have much problem.. At higher levels it really isn't going to cause too many problems. I hit with western sometimes and i just whip up and throw the ball on slices.

Slice works well at any level to the western grip. Anatomically they have to lift the ball with an awkward wrist position. It is better if you can press the player by pulling them off the court with an angle to the backhand then hitting the slice to the forehand and approaching the net. This will force them to hit on the run and under pressure from the awkward wrist position you have forced them into.

-Tyler:D

Supernatural_Serve

08-31-2006, 03:11 PM

step in and take their balls on the rise too so you don't let their balls force you too far back. You get a lot of pace for free, you don't have to swing too hard, but you do have to time them right, but you can place your shots better too.

Make them do the hard work and use their pace and spin to your advantage.